Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A Mexican national has been sentenced for illegal reentry into the United States following deportation. U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler handed down the sentence to Celso Diaz-Martinez on March 10, 2025. Diaz-Martinez, aged 52, received a sentence of time served and was ordered to be removed from the United States.
Diaz-Martinez faced indictment for illegal reentry after deportation by a federal grand jury in November 2024 and was found guilty in a federal jury trial on February 18, 2025. Evidence presented during the trial confirmed that Diaz-Martinez is not a U.S. citizen and had previously been deported from the country four times before being found again in Meade County, South Dakota, in November 2024.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with the Meade County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anna Lindrooth and Benjamin Schroeder led the prosecution.
Following his sentencing, Diaz-Martinez was immediately taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
